November 15 – Venezuela held Brazil to a 1-1 draw with a second-half strike from Telasco Segovia in South American World Cup qualifying. Vinicius Junior missed a penalty.
The Real Madrid player headlined the match but for the wrong reasons. He failed to convert a spot kick, dived to get a rival sent off, and finished the match arguing with opponents and the fourth official.
Brazil were the better side, but Dorival Junior’s side failed to capitalise on their chances.
With a trademark freekick, Raphinha handed the visitors the lead in the 43rd minute, but Segovia equalised in the first minute of the second half with a strike from the edge of the box.
The encounter descended into chaos in the final minutes. Substitute Alexander Gonzalez was sent off for punching both Vinicius and Gabriel Martinelli. Play was also stopped because the sprinklers inside the field had gone off, prompting protests from the Brazilians, who were pushing for a winner.
“We played well, we tried to create at all times,” said Brazil manager Dorival Junior. “That’s characteristic of our team. I believe that, taking into account al possible assessments we deserved better given everything we did.”
The draw leaves Brazil third in the standings with 17 points from 11 matches, behind leaders Argentina and Colombia, who have a game in hand. The top six teams in South America will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the first global finals to feature 48 teams.
The world champions and Lionel Messi went down 2-1 to Paraguay in Asuncion. The hosts stunned their visitors with goals from Antonio Sanabria and Omar Alderete. It was Argentina’s second defeat in the last four games, but just their fifth loss overall in 69 matches.
Next week, in their final matches of 2024, Brazil host Uruguay in Salvador and Argentina play Peru in Buenos Aires.
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